Zomblog

Jul 20, 2012 Jessica rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, bargain-kindle, zombies, yes, series, series-book-1, wasted-opportunity, obnoxious-heroine, read-in-2012, 2-stars, slow, borrrringgg

First 2/3: 4 stars
Final 1/3: -10 stars

I felt - given the above - that 2 stars was actually quite generous. To even begin to understand why I feel this is justified, you will need to read the spoiler below, so do so with caution :p! It's really unfortunate that so much of it is indeed a spoiler, as I feel more strongly about it than probably anything else I have ever written in a review. Anyway, read on to see why this joins the very, very select few books that I consider below 3-stars (only 11 o...more First 2/3: 4 stars
Final 1/3: -10 stars

I felt - given the above - that 2 stars was actually quite generous. To even begin to understand why I feel this is justified, you will need to read the spoiler below, so do so with caution :p! It's really unfortunate that so much of it is indeed a spoiler, as I feel more strongly about it than probably anything else I have ever written in a review. Anyway, read on to see why this joins the very, very select few books that I consider below 3-stars (only 11 of the 219 books I have read and rated have rated below a 3, so it is quite seldom I feel the need to rate something that low).

I would just like to say that I found (view spoiler)[the main character of the final third unbelievable and disgusting.

First of all, I do *NOT* believe for a second that any woman, very shortly after she was raped, would say (about her boyfriend who was just killed, no less)"Only, if you want the truth, he wasn't exactly my type. For one, he was a bit too gentle and I like to know my lover is there. Know what I mean?" I am sorry, but I found this completely offensive and repulsive. And this is truly only the start of how miserable, cold and uncaring this character is. She repeatedly speaks of him in a not very kind or loving way, when he treated her so well and they seemed to really care about each other. She is selfish and not at all likable in the least.

And it is not one of those "love to hate" characters, it's an "I REALLY F'ING HATE YOU, I HOPE YOUR CHARACTER IS ATTACKED BY A ZOMBIE SOON SO I CAN SURVIVE THE REST OF THIS BOOK WITHOUT THROWING MY KINDLE". Yes, the caps were a necessity too. To be honest, I have never in my life read a book where I hated the main character this much. Truly. The problem was that the first 2/3 of the book was told from the point of a view of a character I liked - but then he is turned into a zombie and kills himself - at which point this sociopath takes over. I found other things about her just absurd. And first let me say in advance I am by no means a prude, but the impracticality, selfishness and irresponsibility of the statement below irked me.

Meredith says "Without a man, each of us would like to find a suitable 'replacement' of the battery operated variety...while it may seem selfish, and even a bit careless, we've decided that, while the World may be dead, we are very much alive." Okay, seriously? I have to say that if I was seeing people I cared about murdered left and right and going on scavenging hunts was very dangerous and often resulted in *at least* one person dying, I would not be making masturbating with sex toys a priority, nor would I waste precious batteries on this. I am sure there are suitable alternatives that won't endanger your entire group and waste your precious resources! I seriously doubt it is worth losing one of your crew so you can get off. I don't know if this was some fantasy thing for the author, or what, but I found it absolutely, laughably ridiculous.

This is only a small taste of what made me wonder why I tortured myself through the final third. There were so many other examples like the above, it was hard to choose just 2! It's unfortunate we had to lose the voice of the first 2/3; I liked him. I can say with certainty that I will not be reading any sequels and I think that is a first for me. It's really too bad. (hide spoiler)](less)

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Aug 24, 2012 Nikki Vanderhoof rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, books-i-own, dystopian, effed-up, horror, now-thats-disturbing, sci-fi, zombies

I actually was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this read. When the story first started I thought I was going to get really sick of the blog style writing really quick. Fortunately the action starts right away and the diary style writing actually becomes quite interesting. I felt so bad for Sam that first little while when no one knew what was going on yet, I can't imagine that feeling of just no knowing anything! Sam turned out to be a very smart and dynamic character who grew and develop...more I actually was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this read. When the story first started I thought I was going to get really sick of the blog style writing really quick. Fortunately the action starts right away and the diary style writing actually becomes quite interesting. I felt so bad for Sam that first little while when no one knew what was going on yet, I can't imagine that feeling of just no knowing anything! Sam turned out to be a very smart and dynamic character who grew and developed throughout the story. Character development is an absolute must for me in my reading material and this did not disappoint.

I really appreciated the author's willingness to dig deep down into the bowels of human depravity, something that many zombie novels try to cover by just being overly gory. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love gore, especially in my zombie reading material but there's a time and place for it within any story and I really liked the combination of absolute horror and human redemption that is offered in this story.

Please be aware that this story does change POV. Personally, I liked the change. I know there are many reviewers who didn't appreciate it but I really liked Meredith's character and thought she brought a completely different type of survivor viewpoint from that of Sam. Almost opposite actually. I have read quite a few reviews from readers who both loved and hated Meredith for how she could be so cold sometimes and make it seem like she's doing something for the benefit of the group even though it's actually for her. The only thing I have to say about that is this:

IT'S THE FREAKIN ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE PEOPLE! If you're not out to take care of yourself above anyone else, you're going to die. Deal with it. Don't get me wrong, I have plenty of family and friends that I would do my best to save in a situation like that but if it came down to all of them being gone and the only family I have left is a band of people who started out as strangers and are just trying to survive; then you can better believe I'm only going to be with them for as long as I think it's going to benefit me and further my survival. No room for heroics and martyrs in a dystopian future.

On a side note: There is one part of this story where our band of survivors break into a building in a small town. 3 stories tall, 2nd story only has tall thin windows, inside there are rooms with mirrors on both sides; for those of you who don't pick up on this, the author is referencing an LDS Temple. What a sad scene. I understand that in that kind of event the first place some want to be is where they worship their God but God isn't in a building and what a sad way to see so many God loving/fearing individuals die in hopes that their God will save them because of the building they are in. I guess in the end everyone needs to find their own shelter. Even if it's shelter in death knowing the place you died was the place you worshiped the creator you are now going to meet. (I am not an atheist, nor do I hold any religious affiliations, this was merely an observation).

One negative thing about this e-book was that about half way through the formatting was messed up and the different "chapters" were suddenly right on top of each other and everything was in bold font, not just the chapter headings. Nothing that kept me from enjoying the overall story line and really just a minor formatting error. It did take me out of the story for a minute while I tried to get my bearings around the new format but it didn't take long to get back into the flow of the story. It does go back to it's original format, however, after a while.

I will definitely be reading the other books in this series, especially with how this one ends. (less)

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Nov 05, 2010 Patrick D'Orazio rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

TW Brown has created a very readible book in diary form about the first nine months of the zombie apocalypse. Our writer is Sam Todd, who is an every day guy who decides he will start a blog to document what is going on in his life and it just so happens that he starts writing it a few days before the start of a plague that sweeps the world where the dead begin rising up to destroy the living.
The pace is swift, with each day passing at a clip of about a page each. Sam goes on the run fairly ear...more TW Brown has created a very readible book in diary form about the first nine months of the zombie apocalypse. Our writer is Sam Todd, who is an every day guy who decides he will start a blog to document what is going on in his life and it just so happens that he starts writing it a few days before the start of a plague that sweeps the world where the dead begin rising up to destroy the living.
The pace is swift, with each day passing at a clip of about a page each. Sam goes on the run fairly early in the book and almost never stops, taking breaks along the way at different safe havens, but determined to find a place that he doesn't feel locked in and kept from the outside world, where both the hordes of zombies and the savage living lurk around every corner.
The action is intense and you barely get the chance to catch your breath. I won't reveal something that happens more than halfway through the book, but suffice it to say, there are some genuine surprises in store for the reader. I though the author did a nice job of switching things up on us and taking the story in a different direction. Not what I expected.
Since this is a journal entry type of story there is no dialogue and we are given a synopsis of events for each day. Some readers might consider this a weakness if they are not a fan of that type of writing but I believe the author does a good job of revealing things in a way that makes each entry compelling. Of course, the tough part is that since we are living inside the narrator's head and they are writing these entries at the end of each day, we are often given a sentence or two at the beginning of many entries that gives us a synopsis of the day (or at least hints at one) and then gives us all the details. In other words, some of the suspense is gone because we at least have a hint at who has died or what had taken place (although I will note that the author does a good job of surprising the reader on that account as well and not revealing too much in the synopsis at the beginning of the entries for the most part). That is perhaps what makes this type of book tricky to pull off sometimes. We are not "in the moment" as it were, we are getting the blow by blow after the fact. Still, I think the author did a very good job using this writing style to its fullest potential.
Something I really liked with this book was the author's use of geography and really mapping out a multi-state environment. The characters are constantly on the move, constantly facing new dangers, new challenges, and again, the reader never really has much of a chance to settle in or expect things to slow down. We get mountains and rivers and a lot of excellent descriptions of the northwestern environment. For someone who has never traveled in that region, the author really showcases the area.
No one is safe in this book, the body count is high, and its clear that the writer is directing both his zombie horde and the vicious survivors who our main character comes up against with merciless efficiency here.
For fans of zombie fiction this is a nice addition to your library. The pacing is good and the action is intense. I am looking forward to the sequel to find out what happens next to the narrator.(less)

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Apr 01, 2013 Alisha rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Unlike most the reviewers on this site, I actually like diary/blog form books. My real issue with the book was Meredith, I found the whole last part of the story unrealistic and jarring. I think the story would have been better if Sam had kept it up. Also, I didn't like the way she changed so much when Sam was out of the picture. I mean she wanted to live with him, keep the boy, and then suddenly she wants to run around on suicide missions. Which was the final straw on why I can't give this book...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Nicole Storey rated it 5 of 5 stars

I have read other books in the past that were written in a blog-diary form. Some were interesting enough to keep me reading, but most fell flat. It is almost impossible to to write in the first person AND give engaging details that are in the past tense in a diary form. Something is always lacking, whether it be character detail, descriptions, or not enough information. However, as Brown is one of my favorite authors, I had to take the chance. You guessed it, I was not disappointed at all!

Brown...more I have read other books in the past that were written in a blog-diary form. Some were interesting enough to keep me reading, but most fell flat. It is almost impossible to to write in the first person AND give engaging details that are in the past tense in a diary form. Something is always lacking, whether it be character detail, descriptions, or not enough information. However, as Brown is one of my favorite authors, I had to take the chance. You guessed it, I was not disappointed at all!

Brown just has that gift. He can tell a story, even in a blog format, and make it seem real. His characters could be anyone that you know. The main character in this story, Sam, is just a paper-delivery man who has an ex-wife and a teenage daughter … oh, and a band. He isn’t anything extraordinary. He has no special powers; he can’t shoot electric bolts from his fingertips or move things with his mind. One of the things that I love about the books I have read from this author is that he can take a zombie book and turn it into something other than a “zombie book”! The walking dead definitely take a back seat in his stories and the main characters are the living, breathing type that you either learn to love or hate (sometimes both)!

I read Brown’s DEAD series before I started the Zomblog series. I have been told that this book was his first attempt at writing zombie literature. I noticed a general theme in the DEAD series and I often wandered if it was only in those books, or if it was one that was carried over from his previous works. I see now that it is. That theme is that even though the zombies caused the breakdown of life as it was known, THEY are not the real problem. The zombies are really not to blame for most of the problems that his characters encounter. The zombies are not the “monsters”. In his books, the real boogeymen that leave the reader thinking long and hard after reading his books are human beings. It is amazing how people can change once there are no more rules and no one to carry out the laws of the land. What they can do to one another is much more scary than a wandering zombie, or even a hoard of them!

For anyone who says that they don’t like horror stories, I encourage you to at least try TW Brown’s books. Trust me, the main focus is not the zombies and Brown will tell you that himself. He goes beyond the blood and gore and gives his readers stories with morals and life lessons. He gives them characters that change and grow and become something more than just people trying to make it in a dystopian world. You know, an apocalypse could be caused by many things: nature, medical science, and wars just to name a few. How would we react in a situation where there is no more millitary, policemen to keep us safe, electricity, clean water, or food? Would you stay the same person as you are now or would you become something more? Something less? These are just some of the questions and situations that the author delves into in his books. Trust me, I should know. So far, I’ve read all of them and I am patiently (okay, maybe not patiently) awaiting his fourth book in the DEAD series! If you do decide to take a chance on one of Mr. Brown’s books, please leave me a comment and let me know what you thought! I just love it when readers prove me right! LOL!(less)

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Jan 22, 2013 Jady Arewar rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is just terrible, and it takes a lot for me to just blatantly say that as there are virtually no books that I can just dismiss like this. It's not necessarily because of the writing or the characters, but the entire style that the book is in.

Now that said, the writing itself is not impressive. It reads to me very much as fan fiction, with awkward words and phrases and poorly thought out passages, no plot development and no character development.

The characters aren't interesting either....more This book is just terrible, and it takes a lot for me to just blatantly say that as there are virtually no books that I can just dismiss like this. It's not necessarily because of the writing or the characters, but the entire style that the book is in.

Now that said, the writing itself is not impressive. It reads to me very much as fan fiction, with awkward words and phrases and poorly thought out passages, no plot development and no character development.

The characters aren't interesting either. Some of that can be attributed to no single character besides the narrator exists in the book for more than a couple chapters. The second being that it's impossible to get connected to any character that reads like a mixture of a teenager and someone disconnected from reality or is telling a story third-hand.

The entire style of the book completely makes all the content dis-interesting. I'm not against a dairy-style, but this seems to be done incredibly poorly. Every event is told as if it happened to someone else. There's no passion, no interest, horrifying things are just generically described as horrifying, no effort and no details in 'major' events. Frankly, it's just boring, which is shocking because of how fast-paced the book is, but that just makes it even more boring because you can't become attached to any other character.

There's no actual substance to the book. The reader is jumped from one place to another, with no actual goal in mind and no character to watch develop. (There is absolutely no development in the main character at all.) The story literally is just a cycle of find group, find zombies, leave group and repeat.

The style of a blog is not a reason to sacrifice character development and a lack of overall plot. Overall, I understand that the plot is just simply a guy's survival, but frankly that is not interesting. They teach these things in elementary school - start, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. The book seems stuck at the very start - zombie outbreak.

The only redeeming thing this book does have is a fairly strong (though awkwardly written) opening that suggests a strong story, but it just didn't deliver.(less)

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Oct 01, 2012 Alex Laybourne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have read a fair bit of zombie fiction this year, but Zomblog is by far the best piece I have ever encountered. The writing is of such a high caliber, that you are drawn into the tale from the very first word, and come the end you are gasping and tired, just like the characters you have lived, loved and died with. Just like the ones that remain, you too are screaming for more, for you do not want this adventure to ever end.
T.W. Brown has created a rich world were the zombies have become the l...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Kay Glass rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have read many zombie stories since I first got my Kindle over a year ago, and sadly most of them get deleted before I get halfway through. This one, however, I could not put down. I sympathized with Sam as he struggled to survive. I loved the blog-format of writing. I've never read anything written this way before so it was definitely a nice change of pace.

Sadly, I found it hard near the end. When Meredith continued where Sam left off the differences between the characters was jarring. She wa...more

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Jan 07, 2013 MommyDearest rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Mar 19, 2013 BigJohn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Zomblog is a story about a youngish man who starts a blog at the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. The blog itself is a neat idea for conveying the information of what is happening - and it works very well at the early stages of the outbreak as a means for illlustrating how confusing and scary the world is quickly becoming. But the conceit of the blog wears pretty thin, pretty quickly. It probably would be the same as someone keeping a diary, but who really does that anymore? That the world quic...more Zomblog is a story about a youngish man who starts a blog at the beginning of a zombie apocalypse. The blog itself is a neat idea for conveying the information of what is happening - and it works very well at the early stages of the outbreak as a means for illlustrating how confusing and scary the world is quickly becoming. But the conceit of the blog wears pretty thin, pretty quickly. It probably would be the same as someone keeping a diary, but who really does that anymore? That the world quickly devolves and there seem to be few sources of power don't seem to matter in this super-charged battery that powers the laptop used to write the blog.

At some point, the protagonist is captured! But somehow, he is still able to blog about it. I guess they didn't take his laptop? Confusing.

There's some pretty interesting buildup in the story as the protagonist, Sam, moves from place to place trying to find...something. Safety. Community. Who knows what he's looking for. He's on the move, and it is his movements that provide the impetus for his adventures and corresponding blog entries.

And where does the story end up? I don't know, because it just abruptly ends. I was getting to the end of the book when I found myself wondering, "where is this going? What are they trying to do?" There are no answers - at least not in this book. You have to get Zomblog II and Zomblog: The Final Entry to find out what happens. To say this story is incomplete is pretty generous. I'm not a big fan of incomplete stories in trilogies, as this seems to be.

The adventures that are documented are pretty typical for zombie stories, including lost innocents, lost innocence, mean people, and weird government. It's exciting at first, but then gets pretty old pretty quick. There is a nice rotating in of new characters, though, but they're thinly developed and they don't last long. I never really attached myself to anyone but Sam, even after a pretty monumental shift in focus (which, I admit, is very clever and was a great surprise).

I won't be continuing reading the sequels to this story. I was too frustrated at the abrupt ending.(less)

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Apr 07, 2012 Emma Mills rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I haven't read a zombie book before but this sounded fun and as a free download I didn't have anything to loose so I gave it a go. As I haven't read any other zombie books I can't compare but the blog/diary format worked well and I liked the fact that it was narrated by two characters - first a man then a woman, although I had trouble liking and understanding the woman!

The zombie part of it was pretty much exactly what I would expect, and scenes straight from 'Dawn of the Dead' came to mind seve...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Pat Nestor rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Got this one (first of a book trilogy) for free via Pixel of Ink on the Kindle and it was pretty good. Samuel Todd started a blog to detail things baout his life, like his daughter and his band. Them a virus wipes out a chunk of humanity and thedead rise and look to feast on the lving, and Sam keeps detailing it all on his blog. Has a big change about 3/4 of the way through, and it's a little clunky in delivery in places (perfect example, how does Sam keep blogging with no internet? He starts to...more

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May 20, 2012 M.L. Roos rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love what Todd did with this story. He created an ordinary person, doing an ordinary job and threw him into an unnatural circumstance, but did it in a way that made the story believable.

Sam is a single father, plays in a band and delivers newspapers when most of the world is asleep. This gives him the opportunity to witness different events and he decides to start a blog.

An outbreak occurs and Sam starts to see things are not quite as they should be.

What I loved about this was the depth of ch...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Jason rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3 stars can be a bit deceiving. I didn't think this was bad...just not very innovative in the genre. There wasn't much here that I felt I hadn't already read elsewhere. The biggest issue I had with this story was that it rolled through characters so quickly that I could barely keep up. However, the most frustrating aspect of quick and frequent cast turnover is that this is likely the MOST indicative of how the story in a zombie apocalypse would play out. Not many start to finish heroes. This, wh...more

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Mar 07, 2013 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the story and characters in this book. It was fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. Just when I would think that a haven had been reached, a character I cared for was putting themselves on the line again! You know how you can watch horror movies and yell, " No! Don't do that!" but they do...this was the first time I can recall wanting to do the same thing to a character in a novel! LOL Of course the story would have been much less interesting if they all just hunkered d...more

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Jan 28, 2012 Dana rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 21, 2012 Eileen Saunders rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I chose to read this because of the zombie theme which is currently hot. The book is supposed to be a blog or more like a diary of what happened day to day in the life of a guy living through a zombie attack which started as a virus. He lost his family and has to fend for himself while meeting other non-zombies. I never finished it because it got boring. Day after day was the same thing and the book lost the "blog" aspect of it because there was no electricity in town to support a laptop which t...more

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Feb 18, 2012 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: zombie, apocalyptic

The story is a diary of the outbreak and the months post-outbreak and is not a bad zombie story. Pretty dark and portrays mankind at the end of civilization pretty darkly, but still not a bad story.

There's an interesting protagonist change in the middle that you don't see too often...

If you live and breath zombies, no pun intended, you'll like this story.

Now some standard formatting whines. In the Kindle version, there were some formatting issues. Hyphans where they were not needed, missing lin...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Mary rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I grew more and more attached to this book as I read more. I guess I'm in the minority because I liked the later narrator. I thought she was realistic, considering the situation.

Sometimes I felt there were too many characters coming and going too fast, especially at the beginning. However, I think that's another realistic touch. The characters you got to know were fairly distinctive and developed.

There were a few spelling/grammar mistakes, but generally nothing distracting.

Overall I recommend th...more

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Jun 03, 2012 Bobby Cooper rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bobbys-favorites

T W Browns Zomblog was a real pageturner. Wrote as a blog type journal in the first pov, it is like Day by Day Armegedon. With that being said, Brown took that concept and made it his own. The thing I loved about Zomblog was the characters. Real people!! No underground Superstructure for safety,and no Huge aersonal of weapons. A realistic approach to survival leaving me rethinking the whole dbda thing!! Brown is a writer with some serious skills. Read this!! This is a story that demands being re...more

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Mar 26, 2012 Vix rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved the way this book was written; like a diary but with some real live action thrown in.
The depravity of human nature that is described was so sad, as it felt so real. The zombies were almost the second monsters.....
TW Brown does not bother with the whys and hows but the feelings and day to day survival.
I became attached to the main characters and really felt for them for the horrors that came their way.... Has a weird twist at 2/3 which I did not see coming and brought tears to my eyes.
Can...more

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Jan 17, 2012 Carey rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

4.5 stars!
T. W. Brown has crafted a fast-paced journal of one ordinary man's fight to survive the zombie apocalypse. In Brown's world, sometimes the survivors are more horrific than the undead and no character is safe, especially when zombies learn to mimic a certain sound... I enjoyed the journal entry style of this book but almost wished Brown had spent a little more time with some of the lesser characters. All in all, I thought it was a good read and there were just enough surprises to keep...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Megan Thibault rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, end-of-days

Imagine this….it’s Christmas 2012 and I get my very first e-reader, my now beloved Kindle Fire. As a complete book nerd a whole new world has been opened up….a world of self-published, independent authors and FREE books on Amazon. I went a little crazy and downloaded anything that looked interesting those first few days. Zomblog by TW Brown just happened to be one of those freebies. I had just finished reading my first free book and decided WTH. A little Walking Dead withdrawal made me decide to...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Standard Zombipocalypse fare written as a blog (even though the power goes out by chapter 2 or 3). It had some unique additions to the mythos including the "baby cry" call of the zombies but otherwise borrows heavily from others. Although graphic depictions of horror abound the reader has little emotional investment so it is not as shocking as the author probably hoped it would be. Interestingly the narrator dies a little over halfway through and another character takes over.

I found this free fo...more

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Jun 13, 2012 Mandy White rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Well Thought Out Zombie Adventure!

This first-person memoir-style account of a zombie apocalypse grabbed me right from the beginning and held my interest throughout the story. I thought it was very well thought out on the author's part because the story covered several angles of the zombie scenario that other zombie novels I've read have overlooked. This book addresses the many possible dangers a survivor might have to overcome in a post-apocalyptic world – bringing to light the fact that zombi...more

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Aug 25, 2012 NJMetal rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

ZOMBLOG is zombie writer T.W. Brown's first attempt at a full blown zombie story. Originally written as an actual daily blog it was later published as a full length novel launching Brown's writing career and also indie publishing on his own imprint, May December Publications.

ZOMBLOG is a classic zombie tale set in blog format. The zombie apocalypse hits and we follow an otherwise ordinary person on an extraordinary journey through the turmoil of a global panic. The story travel through all the u...more ZOMBLOG is zombie writer T.W. Brown's first attempt at a full blown zombie story. Originally written as an actual daily blog it was later published as a full length novel launching Brown's writing career and also indie publishing on his own imprint, May December Publications.

ZOMBLOG is a classic zombie tale set in blog format. The zombie apocalypse hits and we follow an otherwise ordinary person on an extraordinary journey through the turmoil of a global panic. The story travel through all the usual caveats one can typically expect from a zombie survival story; safe havens, caravan, shady military forces, outlaw gangs and of course the ever vile zombies.

What Brown is able to pull off where most fail is a captivating and exciting story despite using the tried and true cliches of the genre. The POV that writing in blog format provides a unique storytelling perspective. Add to that an unexpected twist halfway through and you wind up with a dynamic story where most fail.

There are a few glitches in the story. First Brown introduces a cast of characters that disappear almost as quickly as they pop up. The effect can be dizzying and confusing at times. As well the plot itself struggles to find itself if ever. The protagonists don't seem to have a reason that drives them nor is it really clear what they are headed for. It's all just day to day living. Realistically that's fine but in story land a bit more is needed.

I had the opportunity to discuss the finer and lesser points of this story with the author via my podcast. He recognizes the failures and a
In the meantime please enjoy other great episode assures that the further installments of the series refocus the intent of the characters and the writing gets clearer. I have no doubt of this as I've read other of Brown's books and they are much better then ZOMBLOG.

You have to start somewhere so you may as well dive in to book one of ZOMBLOG. Remember it's a four book journey. Don't let the rough points detract from the fact that all in all this is a solid zombie story for those that love zombies.

You can listen to the podcast featuring ZOMBLOG and interview with TW Brown at: http://booksbeerbullshit.podbean.com/...(less)

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May 02, 2011 Chantal Boudreau rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

One of the commandments pushed by publishers and agents nowadays, that I hate as a reader, is the “thou must start thy book with an action scene”. With a few exceptions, I think this is absurd. I like to get to know the characters a bit, and get a good view of the setting for the story before I get thrown into the middle of the action. That’s not “gripping” to me, or a “hook”, it’s just meaningless chaos. That’s why I liked the intro to this book. You get to know the protagonist, Samuel, as a hu...more One of the commandments pushed by publishers and agents nowadays, that I hate as a reader, is the “thou must start thy book with an action scene”. With a few exceptions, I think this is absurd. I like to get to know the characters a bit, and get a good view of the setting for the story before I get thrown into the middle of the action. That’s not “gripping” to me, or a “hook”, it’s just meaningless chaos. That’s why I liked the intro to this book. You get to know the protagonist, Samuel, as a human being, like he could be your co-worker or your neighbour, before you are launched into the fray and considering it’s his tale, that’s incredibly important. You get some insight as to how he relates to his family and his outlook on the world in general.

Another thing I liked about this book is the depth of character displayed by even lesser characters. In other zombie stories, you’ll often see people lose what they are as the story progresses, giving in to their desperation and becoming too flawed to be likable. The characters in this book are also flawed, something necessary for realism, but still retain positive qualities and struggle to hold onto their humanity, despite their circumstances. Their shared troubles even prove to be a unifying experience for people who would have otherwise avoided one another. Some of the more tragic characters, like little Joey, will absolutely rip your heart out.

Not that there wasn’t gore or tense moments in the book. There were plenty of those – I would think enough to satisfy any die-hard zombie fan, but the factor I look for the most is the human component, the elements that make me really connect to the story and make it real for me. The characters were engaging, the plot was moving and the description was vivid. Nothing about the book was forced either. The narrative flowed smoothly and the dialogue was believable.

Finally, while I won’t offer any spoilers, there was a twist to the plot about two thirds of the way through the book that caught me way off guard. It’s difficult to surprise me, and this was completely unexpected, so I have to award kudos for that as well.
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Jan 31, 2012 Bob rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sci-fi-fantasy

Oddly enough, in my mind anyway, I flew through this book. It was a free read, which doesn't mean a lot, but I never come at freebies with high expectations. It was also about Zombies and I've never really read a book that deals pretty much entirely with becoming, killing, hiding from, smashing, driving over, becoming (did I say that already)...Zombies. I really enjoyed the blog style of the story and the couple of voices involved in the writing. It sounds like there is or will be a next book in...more

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Jan 15, 2012 Bridget rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started reading a preview of this book out of curiousity and couldn't stop. Zombies freak me out, so I really have to give myself a break before the next one in the series (but couldn't help but to read the first chapter of book two on amazon). It's written as a blog and I got wrapped up in the story like I would with a friend telling me about an on-going saga in their life. I don't think I'd say it was an awesome book, but I had a hard time putting it down.

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Apr 11, 2012 Selinalynn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book reads like a journal/blog and is a first person account of how the world came to be during and after the zombies came. You get to see how different groups try to survive in a world without laws. T.W.Brown covers all types of groups and people. I liked how he didn't shy away from the more disturbing ideas. I really liked the book and continued to read the whole series which didn't disappoint.

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